Expert reaction to this summer’s exam results

Comment from Dr Tina Isaacs, Senior Lecturer in Education (Assessment and Evaluation) at the University College London Institute of Education, on this year’ s A level results:

“2016 is set to be the last quiet year for GCSEs and A levels results — the exams are still stable and none of the major changes has yet to take effect. The interesting thing about AS and A levels will be what, if anything, has happened to the numbers taking AS, but word on the grapevine (notoriously unreliable though it is) is that schools and colleges are hedging their bets at least this summer, so AS enrolments may not drop dramatically.

Progress8 has already made a difference, but the introduction of the EBacc over the last few years pretty much has already meant that many schools put whoever they thought might achieve it in for those subjects in 2014 and 2015. But we won’t know anything definitive until results day(s). It’s possible that in subjects such as French and Spanish that results will go down simply because of changes to the cohort taking them.”

Professor Jo-Anne Baird, Director of the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, said:

“The requirement for all to gain grade C standards in English and Maths is surely the right aspiration for the education system, but resitting an exam that you failed, maybe because it didn’t engage you in the first place could switch people off to further learning. An alternative GCSE that would be more suitable for this large group of students really should be developed. ”